Warriors Open Playoffs Atop 2018 NBA Championship Odds

The Golden State Warriors will try to rebound from a shaky performance over the final month of the regular season when they begin the defense of their NBA championship this weekend as +135 favorites on the NBA title odds.

Hobbled by injuries, most notably two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, who is expected to remain sidelined during the club’s opening-round matchup with San Antonio, Golden State stumbled down the stretch. The Warriors take a 7-10 straight-up record in their final 17 outings into Saturday afternoon’s matchup at Oracle Arena.

Curry was already hampered by nagging shoulder and ankle ailments when he suffered a knee injury in a 106-94 win over Atlanta as 11.5-point chalk on March 23 that has since kept him out of action.

The Warriors responded to the loss of Curry by recording three straight outright losses on home hardwood for the first time since January 2014, fueling their current 2-5 SU run at Oracle Arena. However, the club has also endured struggles at the sportsbooks that predate Curry’s injury, covering in back-to-back contests just once while going 8-17 against the spread over their past 25 games.

The Spurs have also hit hard times since going 25-11 SU to start the current campaign. San Antonio has played sub-.500 basketball since, punctuated by a brutal 3-11 SU run in February, and are a dismal 1-12 SU in their past 13 road dates.

A first-round matchup with Golden State is also far from ideal for the Spurs, who have dropped eight of nine to the Warriors, including a four-game sweep in last year’s Western Conference Finals, and open the postseason trailing at a distant +6000 on the 2018 NBA Championship odds.

Rockets Sit Second on Latest NBA Title Odds

The Houston Rockets closely trail the Warriors at +160 on the NBA playoff odds, followed by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at +650, while the Toronto Raptors close out the top of the NBA futures at +850.

The Rockets emerged as the class of the NBA this season, setting a franchise record with a league-leading 65 wins. Houston closed out the campaign by going 3-3 SU in its final six, and covered just once in seven outings after clinching the top seed in the West. But the Rockets have dominated their first-round opponents in recent clashes, going 18-2 SU in 20 dates with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who return to the NBA playoffs for the first time in 13 years at a lengthy +9000 on the 2018 NBA championship odds.

The Cavaliers slipped to fourth place in the Eastern Conference during the final week of the season, setting the stage for a tough first-round matchup with Indiana, which claimed the season series by a 3-1 margin. However, the Pacers have failed to get past the opening round in each of the past two years, and are pegged as a lengthy +10000 NBA championship bet.

A 16-game SU win streak has lifted the Philadelphia 76ers to the No. 3 seed in the East, and to +1500 on the NBA playoff odds, well ahead of the +6600 odds they sported on opening night, while Oklahoma City is pegged at +2500, ahead of Portland at +3300, Utah at +4500, and the Boston Celtics at +7000.